The Bored Ape Yacht Club is once again injecting the NFT ecosystem with some much-needed vitality. Leading up to and following the release of the Sewer Pass — an access token that enables BAYC holders to take part in an interactive minting experience — BAYC-related assets accounted for nearly half of the total ETH NFT volume from January 16 to 23.

Driving that volume is the desire to compete in a skills-based endless runner-style game developed by BAYC’s Yuga Labs called Dookey Dash. Available only to Sewer Pass holders, Dookey Dash players try to make it as far as they can through the sewers of the BAYC while dodging obstacles and collecting “fragments” along the way. Released on January 18, the game is a part of a larger minting mechanic for the next iteration of the BAYC universe in which players with high scores become eligible for rarer mints.

Videos of players streaming their runs of the game have been popping up all over social media in the last week, with many sharing their high scores as well. But how exactly do you get a high score in Dookey Dash? To dispel the mystery, we’ve put together a short list of tips and tricks to increase your chances of getting on the Dookey Dash leaderboard and landing a coveted mint in the upcoming BAYC release. 

Tip 1: Time your dash just right 

Dookey Dash scores are based on three main factors: how long your sewer run lasts, the kinds of fragments you pick up, and how many obstacles you destroy. Dashing — a quick speed boost — is one of the game’s key components. It allows your character to zip forward and smash through obstacles in your path. Timing your dash is critical, however. Do it too late, and you’ll have a tough time reacting to unseen obstacles behind the wall you’ve just broken through. Too early, and you might not have enough speed to break through in the first place. Err on the side of dashing earlier than later; slamming into some pipes beyond a wall is more likely to end your run than anything else when using a dash. 

Tip 2: Be strategic about fragments

Collecting fragments (both common and rare) will help increase your overall score, so make sure you’re aiming for them. However, as the sewers become increasingly clogged with obstacles as your run progresses, don’t take too many risks for common fragments and focus on extending your run for as long as possible. 

Tip 3: Reset your dash 

Dashing is a tool, so use it wisely. The three seconds needed for your dash to cool down can seriously inhibit your ability to rack up points in the game or even lead to your whole run ending because you couldn’t break through an obstacle. But when you use the dash to break through wooden boards or knock large objects out of your path, it immediately resets, cooling off for instant reuse. Using the dash to beak through large objects will also earn you a small number of points. Those add up over time, so use this to your advantage, especially in the game’s early stages when there are far fewer objects floating around in the sewers. 

Tip 4: Buy a Powershart Pack with ApeCoin

Dookey Dash players willing to spend 2 ApeCoin ($APE, the native token for the BAYC universe) will be rewarded with a Powershart Pack, a booster pack that comes with 10 minutes of real-time three upgrades in the game. Benefits include a greater chance of finding rare items in the sewers, cutting dash cooldown time in half, and a 15 percent bonus added to your final run score. 

Tip 5: Ignore your score

Try not to pay too much attention to your score in the upper left corner of your screen. Glancing at it only creates a distraction and increases your chances of catching an edge on an obstacle and ending your run. If you need an indication of how you’re doing, keep an ear open to the music as it changes throughout your run. If the music is too bothersome, try muting the game and putting on your own tunes instead. 

Tip 6: Play Dookey, not dirty

Because of the game’s stakes, some might be tempted to bend the rules or otherwise cheat the game to achieve a high score. Yuga Labs’ co-founder Greg Solano recently took to Twitter to address this very issue, explaining that the team collects a fair amount of metadata from each run of the game and that any foul play is likely to come to light and result in an essential banning from the future mint reveal.

To that same point, a Web3 denizen and software engineer by the name of cygaar recently broke down how they spent a week combing through the game’s code to find flaws that would let them exploit Dookey Dash. After finding a hole that allowed them to register a high score while passing through obstacles entirely, they contacted the Yuga Labs team about patching the issue. Now, anyone attempting to employ a similar method is unlikely to succeed. Regardless, players should stick by the script if they want to have a shot at BAYC’s next NFT drop, The Summoning.

Good luck out there, dashers.

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